Daily Digit: Antarctic ice loss has tripled in the last decade

Daily Digit is the story behind the numbers that make our world work. A recent report from NASA and the European Space Agency estimates that the Antarctic ice sheet lost an average of 219 million tons of ice per year between 2012 and 2017 — three times as much as recorded in the 10 years prior. Since 1992, the Antarctic ice sheet has been reduced by an estimated 3 trillion tons, causing sea levels to rise by 8 millimeters globally. While 8 millimeters may not seem significant, if ice loss continues to accelerate at this rate, sea levels will begin rising faster and we may be in for big trouble.